THIS page has been created in order to supply a home for
updates to this site. It will also serve the purpose of allowing me to put any
content here that might not sit easily on other pages and make comments about
various matters that might push some of my buttons! For the latest updates
scroll down the page.

MANCHESTER POOR LAW RECORDS. More information about Tame
Street added. See here.

MINUTES OF THE MEEETINGS OF THE GUARDIANS OF THE MANCHESTER
POOR LAW UNION. Major update ending in June 1946. See
here.

MANCHESTER BOROUGH POLICE FORCE FOURTH PART. Now
updated to December 1849. See here

The vast majority of the Manchester Diocese records are now
online at Ancestry.

It appears that the online catalogues
for Manchester Archives + and the other
Boroughs in Greater Manchester has been changed. It was known as the Pastfinder
Catalogue and until recently was fairly easy to search for experienced
researchers such as myself. It appears that they have a new "supplier". It is
still fairly easy to search in general terms, but if a researcher requires to
search a specific repository it is now necessary to enter the unique code
for that particular Greater Manchester Repository. So here we go, the codes
are:

New page added to give a history of the forming of the new Police
Force after the Incorporation of the town. See here
, here, here and
here.

It includes the names, (in some cases addresses), and rank of all
the men who became part of the new force. It also includes promotions,
demotions, sackings, disciplinary matters and awards. There is a complex
breakdown of rates of pay, staffing and rosters. It also highlights the
work of the Chief of the Police Commissions, Sir Charles Shaw and covers the
period up to 1842 when the Council Watch Committee again took control of the
force. What was the difference between a Constable being on a Beat or on Patrol?
Read the Annual Criminal Statistical Reports. Discover a whole list of news
tasks that were put under the remit of the Watch Committee ranging from
the Fire Department, whitewashing lodging houses and preventing damage to,
or the improper use of urinals. Find out by reading through the information.

I have added a new section on the surviving reports from
1851-52. See here.

MANCHESTER POLICE STOCK ACCOUNT

Manchester Police Stock Accounts
have survived from 1825 until 1835. See here.

MANCHESTER CITY CENTRE CHURCHES.

This page has been updated and now includes a more
comprehensive list of churches in the city centre. See
here.

NATIONAL REGISTRATION ACT 1939

Following a challenge under the Freedom of
Information Act, information gathered using the above Act which has
previously been withheld, may be released.

Between 1939 and 1952 the compulsory issue of Identity Cards
was brought in under some of the provisions of the National Registration
Act 1939. Under the Act a register of all person in the UK was taken and
Identity Cards were then issued. People entering the country after the
initial registration had to supply their details and then they too would be
issued with an Identity Card. The register consisted of the names, sex,
age, occupation etc, residence, married or single and any membership of the
Naval, Military or Air Force Reserves etc. The register was compiled by the
Registrar General and the information was collected by enumerators much in the
same way as a Census and in many ways it is just as important as a Census,
especially bearing in mind that the 1931 returns were destroyed by fire and no
Census was taken in 1941. The Identity Cards were issued to all civilians, with
members of HM Forces and merchant sailors being exempt.

A series of fines were introduced for
giving false information, impersonation, forgery of an Identity Card, and
unauthorised disclosure of information. For these offences, maximum penalties on
conviction were a £50 fine and or three months in prison, and on conviction on
indictment a £100 fine and or two years in prison. It was also an offence to
fail to comply with any other requirement duly made under the Act, or with any
regulation made under it, and the maximum penalty was a £5 fine or one month in
prison or both. The Act applied to the whole of the United Kingdom and was to
remain in force until a date which 'His Majesty may be Order in Council declare
to be the date on which the emergency that was the occasion of the passing of
this Act came to an end'.

As I understand, this now means that information about
deceased people on the register can now be released. I also understand that this
decision can be appealed against. Not being one to be backward in coming
forward, I decided to apply for information about my late father and I sent the
following email to enquiries@ic.nhs.uk
on
10th November 2009

In view of the very recent Information Commissioner's
decision about the 1939 Registration I would like to obtain a copy of the
details registered for my late father.

Please let me know If I need to supply any more information such as
a scan of his death certificate.

The following day I received this reply:

Dear Gerard Lodge ,

Thank you for contacting the IC
Contact Centre

Thank you for your enquiry '[Possible Spam] 1939 Registration '
received on 11/11/2009 09:22 . Your enquiry has been logged and we will do our
best to resolve this as soon as possible.

Please quote reference number NIC-35086-D724Y on all future
communications regarding this enquiry...

Kind Regards

Contact Centre Team

The NHS Information Centre for Health and
Social care ...

I notedwith interest the term [Possible Spam]!

On 25th November 2009 I received another
email:

Further to your recent enquiry '[Possible Spam]
1939 Registration' received on 11/11/2009 09:22, it has been necessary to assign
this to our second line of support for further investigation.

Thank you for your patience and we will endeavour
to keep you informed of the status of your enquiry.

On 8th December2009 I received the following:

Dear Mr Lodge,

Re: Information Request : Freedom of Information Act 2000

I can confirm that the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care has
considered your query dated the 10th November 2009, received by us on
the 11th November.

..

A search of our records has been undertaken and I can confirm that your late
father had been issued with a miscellaneous Registration number which was given
to a person after they either lost their original ID card, were discharged from
HM forces or came into the country after 29th September, 1939.We are therefore unable to search the 1939 register with this type of
Registration number. However, I am able to provide you with a copy of your late
fathers registration card.

I hope that this response meets your request for information. However, if you
are not satisfied, you may request a review from a suitably qualified member of
staff not involved in the initial query, via the
enquiries@ic.nhs.uk e mail address or
by post at the above postal address.

I will assume that your request to the organisation is now closed.

The image below was attached.

So...ok they have supplied me with some information...on the
register should have been my father's names, sex, age, occupation etc,
residence, married or single and any membership of the Naval, Military or Air
Force Reserves etc. They cannot supply me with the full details because they did
not know his number. Perhaps I should have told them it was NJEY 145/2.

I applied once again with the added information for my
father's details, but in their wisdom
NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care
replied
"According to our records, your enquiry has been resolved and we have now closed our
enquiry log."

I find this somewhat strange as I applied for my
grandmother's details, who lived at the same address, and received the
information without any
problem.

"I can
confirm the following information is held in the 1939 register:-

"

Registration NoNJEY 145/1

NameMary E Lodge

Date of Birth07 Dec 1888

Address46
Benchill Road, County
Borough of Manchester

Marital StatusWidow

OccupationSchool Caretakers Assistant

I shall not be pursuing this matter.

However a couple of days later I received another email
from the NHS Information Centre which included my father's full details from the
1939 Registration. I have noticed that they have introduced a charge of £42.00.
Maybe it will be cheaper when it goes online?